parent[hood] put on some gangsta.rap and handle it

“A Place for Happy Mothers” January Book Review

I have successfully finished reading my 1st book this year. Here is my review on “A House for Happy Mothers” by Amulya Malladi

I’m a visual person, even when it comes to picking a book. ” A house for Happy Mothers” caught my attention with its bright colors and pretty writing. The title itself made me happy, I mean who doesn’t want a house for happy mothers!?!?

The description got me more intrigued.

The story revolves around two women willing to do anything for their family.

Priya and Madhu live in Silicon Valley. They are an Indian American couple who have gone thru many miscarriages and failed IVF treatments.

Asha lives in India, with her husband who is a painter and her 2 kids, her oldest is very advanced for his age and Asha and her husband want to be able to send him to a “special school for smart kids” but their poverty limits them.

The two women’s lives become intertwined when Priya has exhausted every option to get pregnant and heard from a friend about using a surrogate from India. Asha’s sister in law was a surrogate once and their family was able to use the money earned to buy a flat and other wants and needs to better their family.

Although both couples have misgivings about surrogacy, they will do it, as it’s the means to an end they all want.

Each gives what they can in order to achieve their goals. Priya and her husband pay Asha to be their surrogate, and Asha plans to use the payment to pursue her son’s education. Ethical questions arise as you see the sacrifices Asha must make and the pain that infertility has brought to Priya.

Reading this book raised a lot of ethical and moral questions but it leaves it up to the reader to decide for themselves. It only shows the two different worlds of these women, because ultimately happiness is never what we think it is.

“Even though they had all the creature comforts they could dream of, none of the women in the Happy Mothers House was happy. Asha saw it everywhere. The frustration of being away from their families, the humiliation of lying to everyone about their pregnancy, the conflict of having a baby inside them they mustn’t bond with –these were definitely not Happy Mothers.”